He befriended the US District Attorney in St. Paul and got a job as his assistant. In 1950 Clara was awarded the Syracuse University awarded her the coveted George Arents Pioneer medal. Congdon was re-elected for the 1911 Legislature. Velmas body was as cold as concrete. However, alongside her husband, she shares a hefty net worth of $32 million in April 2022. "Sorry," he wrote in an email. Along with his pro-brewery group of politicians, he was aligned with stopping a vote on ending child labor. Although the owners carried insurance of $365,000 on the hull and $369,400 in disbursements, the wheat cargo alone at $2.35 per bushel was worth $893,000 ( Lake Carriers Association . In the world Marjorie Congdon grew up in, wealth was everything. Its one of Americas great houses. This team led the case's investigation and successful prosecution of Roger Caldwell, Congdon's son-in-law, in the most notorious double murder in Minnesota history. Accordingly, when Marjorie was thirteen, Elisabeth bought Marjorie a horse she had been demanding. It was built in 1908 by Chester and Clara Congdon. There she started the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis . As word of Duluth's millionaires was gathering momentum, Congdon was building his $854,000 Jacobean mansion, Glensheen. When Congdon came to the boomtown known as Duluth in 1892, he entered law practice and became a key figure in iron mining and banking. His was the classic American rags to riches story, and he was just getting started. She is known for her amazing leadership skills and is an integral part of the #gamechanging that is happening at Glensheen. Its really come a long way since 1979. Chester Adgate Congdon was a go-getter. Overnight, Congdon became a very wealthy man. He passed the bar and took a job as a high school principal in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The last remaining photograph of Chester Congdon. He was a member of various professional, historical, scientific, social, and fraternal societies and associations. Clients fall in love with her charming attitude and how she can bring events to life. Cable Publishing, 2014, Mansion with blood red sky, by Toa Heftiba, Glensheen Mansion exterior, Public domain, Glensheen bedroom where murder took place, Damien Enwhistle, Chester Congdon by Daniel Haas, CC by-SA 4.0, Hallway in Glensheen mansion, Damien Enwhistle, Elisabeth Condon in her eighties, Popular Bio, Staircase landing at Glensheen, Damien Enwhistle, Roger Caldwell mugshot, John DeSanto, Zenith City Press, Marjorie Congdon Caldwell walking with attorney, Art Hagen, Minneapolis Start Tribume, Candleholders on nightstand in murder bedroom, Hansen Family blog, Marjorie Congdon mug shot, Pima County Sheriffs Office, Smiling Marjorie in her seventies, Arizona Department of Corrections, Lake Superior shoreline, by Taylor Friehl. The cause was arson, but her presence there could not be connected to the crime, and she was not arrested. Years later, Marjorie was convicted of insurance fraud and arson and was sent to Perryville prison in Arizona on July 19, 1993. However, that didnt mean she didnt want children. June 2009). While she lived there she adopted her two daughters and raised them in the Congdon mansion. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. Those who know her find her friendly and engaging. Sign up to receive the new North Report newsletter. The authors frankly discuss their successes and failures to explain how the man they convicted of murder, Roger Caldwell, was later set free--after confessing to the crimes! The medal was for excellence in humane and cultural pursuits., The oldest daughter of the Congdon family, Marjorie was known to be more soft spoken than many of her siblings, and she carried with her a calm presence. Author Joaquin Miller, writing for the New York Independent in the late 1880s, predicted that Duluth would someday surpass the size of Chicago and become the greatest city on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Nearly every history of Duluth touches on the city's heyday as an American boom town packed with lumber and mining industrialists. Today we want to focus on something a little more personal; her family and her activism. Chester Congdon, an East Coast transplant and lawyer for Oliver Mining who was an investor in the Mesabi Iron Range, must have been left off. But psychopaths are different. Whatever the diagnosis revealed was something Elisabeth would never tell anyone. If youre wondering who leads all of Glensheens tour guides and gift shop staff look no further. Milissa also handles all of the security staff you see at Glensheen. Chester Congdon was born in Rochester, New York, on June 12, 1853, as the son of Sylvester Laurentius and Laura Jane (ne Adgate) Congdon. Roger Caldwell was identified by a Duluth cab driver who remembered taking him out to Glensheen on the night of the murders. After the murders, someone stole Velma Pietilas car and left it at the airport, suggesting the killer had fled the city. On June 27, 1977 at 3:00am, Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse Velma Pietila (born April 26, 1911) were found murdered. I was told that my maternal grandmother, Emma Mattson (married name Hassett) worked there as a maid in the early 1900s. He also served as a. She didnt stop there; she then used her own funds to cover the closing costs of homes for families. Psychopaths are at their most dangerous when their manipulations are thwarted. Now she was free to do whatever she wanted. They win people over, before bending them to their will. In 1893, they were joined by judge Daniel A. Dickinson and the firm style of Billson, Congdon & Dickinson was adopted. University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library. Someone broke into the 39-room Duluth home, killed Elizabeth Congdon's night nurse with a candlestick on the grand staircase, and then smothered the 83-year-old heiress in her bed with a satin pillow, the Duluth News Tribune says. The boundaries were drawn in such a way to ensure more political power to the steel industry and those against the tonnage tax. Your email address will not be published. Thats when Marjorie got an idea. It's one of the most publicized murder cases in Minnesota history. Avoid being drawn in. Before her, American pottery was considered unrefined and she set out to change that. Eighty-one-year old Elisabeth Congdon refused to bail Marjorie out anymore. As early as 1966 when she was married to Dick LeRoy, the family garage mysteriously burned to the ground. Amanda has worked at Glensheen in various capacities since college. His company has been receiving regular clients since 2003, and he also makes money from YouTube and TV shows. Very interesting story. Antabuse is a prescription drug that reacts badly with alcohol. In fact, the Congdon family was one of the most accomplished, distinguished and generous in Minnesota. He became a prominent figure in connection with the development of the iron and copper mining resources of the Lake Superior country, and at the same time, his advice and assistance were sought by many business and financial institutions on the directorate of which his name never appeared. Fun Fact: Maria Longworth Storer was also the first woman ever to found a music festival in the United States. Im wondering how much entrance into the mansion and tour costs. Candleholders on Elisabeth Congdons bedside table in Glensheen Mansion. His wife, Clara, and their children remained in the home for a period of time, but the upkeep was difficult. 49931, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. Marjorie Congdon 23 Daughter Helen C Congdon 21 Daughter Elizabeth M Congdon 16 Daughter Robert Congdon 11 Son Alfred D Bannister 20 Nephew Rudolph Miller 38 Servant. Developed by. One of Elisabeths crowning achievements was when she started a womens health clinic with her dear friend, Dr. Elizabeth Bagley. Emily leads six students in maintaining the grounds, growing vegetables often given to local food pantries, and is keeper of the bees. Additionally, he was a director in the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company of Bisbee, Arizona, the Hedley Gold Mining Company, William Cornell Greene's Greene Cananea Copper Company, the Marshall-Wells Hardware Company, the Gowan-Lenning-Brown Company, and various other banking, mining and jobbing enterprises which claimed his attention and profited by his cooperation and direction. Marjorie serves as a great example of a well educated woman who used her experience and funds for good. She was arrested and convicted of second-degree arson and insurance fraud. Two years later, after having moved to Englewood, Colorado, Marjorie was identified in the vicinity of the First National Bank Building shortly before it caught on fire. American historical society. Partnering with a friend, Congdon obtained leases for iron ore properties that contained ore mixed with sand. It was a pattern that would repeat itself throughout her life. Barbara is rarely found in her office because she is out and about making sure our visitors experience is the best it can be. All rights reserved. Marjorie could not have been pleased. In it, the city was described as "rapidly becoming a center of wealth." How lumberjacks harnessed an 'ocean of pine' to build Minnesota. During this time she kept in touch with Chester through letters. Like her mother, she was active in humanitarian work, active in the church, and gave generously of her funds. She got along swimmingly with the other inmates, and she sent a bouquet of flowers to the warden every week. He had membership with the Kitchi Gammi Club, Northland Country Club, Commercial Boat Club, and Duluth Boat Club, all in Duluth; the Minnesota Club of St. Paul; the Minneapolis Club of Minneapolis; the University Club of Chicago; the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Bankers Club of New York; the Commercial Club of North Yakima; and with various college fraternities, including the Upsilon Kappa, Psi Upsilon, Theta Nu Epsilon, and Phi Beta Kappa. I am fascinated by the story of the Congdon family, their triumphs and ways of life! [1], In November 2008, Marjorie Congdon LeRoy Caldwell Hagen pleaded guilty to fraud after illegally taking funds from the bank account of Roger Sammis after his death. She had been smothered to death. Chester Congdon. After her elder sister moved out of the mansion, Elisabeth took over her room as it was bigger. 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